Australia Megathread - Holidaying/Moving/Living in Australia

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tourism & Travel > Australia Megathread - Holidaying/Moving/Living in Australia

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Eco RI posted:

Does anyone in this thread know anything about the state of the wine industry in and around Adelaide? What is living in Adelaide like compared to say Melbourne or Sydney? From what I can gather, this is where I would want to be if I moved there for a wine job and the rent is considerably cheaper in and around Adelaide. I have 4+ vintages of experience, so I might be looking at a supervisory position if I move there. Would any of you know what to expect/ask as for compensation?

I've got mates who work for big corporates and smaller suppliers, and according to them the wine industry in SA is taking it in the arse at the moment, mostly because exports have tanked due to the GFC and the high dollar. Combined with the small town nature of Adelaide, it could be hard unless you're just interested in seasonal work.

# ¿ Jul 17, 2010 10:55

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 03:27

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

imnotinsane posted:

Melbourne is basically the city for international students looking for a way to migrate here. It's pretty expensive in the short term

Should have a look at Adelaide too, it's a smaller, cheaper version of Melbourne. Plenty of international students end up there too.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2011 03:33

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

The Pillowman posted:

He swore to me up and down not to go, and suggested Melbourne instead. Best decision I made.

Feel like elaborating on that? It's not the best town if you're looking for long term careers prospects, or a hectic nightlife, but for what the poster I was responding to was after it's a sensible choice.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2011 04:51

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Frogmanv2 posted:

I was born in Adelaide, I have family over there, and its as boring as gently caress.

Its fairly clear that the list of cities is Perth > Brisbane > Melbourne/Sydney > Hobart > Adelaide > Darwin > Cooper Pedy > Canberra

Perth is the best city? :psyduck:

You must be working from a very odd set of criteria.

It's got all the small town drawbacks of Adelaide (insular, parochial, bugger all going on most of the time), combined with the sprawl, poor urban planning and warped cost of living of Sydney. It does seem to have milder winters than Adelaide/Melbourne.

I've lived for more than a year in Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth, and if you were bored in Adelaide then you're more than likely going to be bored in Perth.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2011 04:01

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Gloomiebat posted:

(I am not as blithely ignorant as my post may indicate, I've been emailing back and forth with an acquaintance in Melbourne about basically everything as well, but I want to get as good a scope of what to expect/what to do/what not to do as possible.)

Just remember that if you ask a question about a city/state, you'll get a lot of posts to the effect of "it's poo poo" from people whose expertise lies in the fact that they live in neighbouring state/city and visited for a weekend.

If you go bush, watch out for the stinging trees.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2011 05:03

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

ExecuDork posted:

I've read if I get an International Driver's license I should be OK for up to a year or more, but I don't understand Australian (or maybe it's state-by-state? and Tasmania is different?) car insurance & registration. I've been browsing gumtree, and I noticed many ads specify the length of time the car is registered for. Is there an insurance company or government website I can find with the right keyword search?

Try http://www.transport.tas.gov.au/ for info on vehicle registration and driver licensing.

imnotinsane posted:

Some people sell car with some registration left otherwise you will have to pay about 600 for a years worth of rego. Unlike Canada and USA we do not require insurance to drive a car so you can organise insurance when you have brought the car.

It's worth clarifying this, as Australian insurance is set up a bit differently to Canadian insurance. In Australia, the vehicle is insured, not the driver. The $600 rego (vehicle registration) fee includes a compulsory insurance charge for personal injury. It's up to the owner of the vehicle to arrange insurance for damage done to other vehicles/property.

If you've been paying insurance in Ontario, you'll be amazed at how cheap it is to insure a car in Australia.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2012 05:59

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Bo_Bashy posted:

Australia seems to have very "Texas" weather.

You might want to do a bit more reasearch on that. Australia is pretty much the size of the lower 48 US states, with everything from tropical rainforests to deserts and alpine regions.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2012 01:33

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

ExecuDork posted:

Am I reading the Telstra website wrong? In their "pre-paid mobiles" section, they list a bunch of phones, including a Samsung Galaxy Y (choice of pink or silver) for $99. I don't have an address in Australia, yet, so I can't go through the buying process far enough to get more details, but it looks like $99 gets a smartphone, and $10 credit that expires in two weeks. From that point, you just buy those $20 (or whatever) credits for pay-as-you-go, right?

Is it just the Galaxy Y is a crappy phone? Honestly I was expecting smartphones to cost $400-$800 unless I sign up for a long-term plan / contract.

No, you're not reading it wrong. For some things, Australian buyers do get reamed, but for mobile telecomms service and gear Australians don't do that badly (at least in comparison to the US/Canada, although comparisons with the UK aren't as good).

# ¿ Sep 8, 2012 00:41

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

ExecuDork posted:

On that point, is there a car-club organization in Tasmania? I'm a member of the Canadian Automobile Association, is there a similar organization that gives me a phone number to call if I lock myself out of my car, or dump it in a ditch, or whatever, in exchange for an annual membership fee?

http://www.ract.com.au/

Most Australian auto clubs/associations are in the Alliance Internationale de Tourisme, as is the CAA, so there should be some sort of reciprocal agreement.

# ¿ Sep 10, 2012 07:18

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Lizard Combatant posted:

I'm assuming that wasn't a typo and you mean September next year? The weather should be quite nice, although October would greatly increase your chances of no rain (in South Australia that is).

Actually, summer is wetter than the winter months for Oodanadataa, but that's not saying much because it's in the middle of a desert. The mean rainfall for October is 14mm.

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_017043.shtml

# ¿ Oct 3, 2012 10:53

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Sharks Below posted:

Also fly north to Broome for a few days omg do this.

Why? I've been to Broome a few times for work, and on weekends off did some exploring. The attraction of the place is a complete mystery to me - there are plenty of other coastal regions in Australia that are just as nice without being so hellishly hot or remote

# ¿ Sep 13, 2014 04:32

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

December Octopodes posted:

I was in Perth for a little bit, now I'm way the gently caress up in South Hedland. Perth has a kangaroo island if you're interested, but it's easy to run out of poo poo to do. I second people saying get out of town, you'll be much happier that way.

Rottnest Island, with the Quokkas? There's a Kangaroo Island 2000km away in South Australia, that doesn't have quokkas but does have kangaroos.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2014 12:30

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Frogmanv2 posted:

Herrison island?

I've spent 3+ years in Perth and walked over that bridge scores of times and not noticed them at all, but apparently there are some there!

# ¿ Sep 16, 2014 07:25

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Pompous Rhombus posted:

Another question: what sort of deductions are there taken out of your paycheques for basic, hourly-type jobs? In the US you get some taken out for social security/Medicare, as well as usually getting income tax withheld (as well as maybe state or local income tax, if the area you live in has that). In Australia I understand the Medicare Levy doesn't kick in until much higher levels of income, under ~$18k income isn't taxed (I'll be applying for tax residency), and superannuation is on top of your salary, not deducted from it. Is there anything I'm missing? Talking Tasmania, if it makes a difference.

It should only be PAYG income tax that they're witholding.

You can check up on how much tax they should be witholding here: https://www.ato.gov.au/Rates/Fortnightly-tax-table/?page=10#PAYG_withholding_publications

Medicare levy is calculated when you do your tax return (ie after each financial year ends), details about the threshold for that here: https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Medicare-levy/Reduction-for-people-on-low-incomes/Income-thresholds-for-Medicare-levy-reduction/

There are no state income taxes in Australia.

Superannuation is only required when you earn/work more than a certain amount in a given period. It should not be deducted from any hourly pay rate you earn.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2014 10:27

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

wildemere posted:

I've had to take my Falcon to over 120mph

A standard Falcon at 200km/h is floaty as hell, especially on lovely country roads. Maybe the super sporty versions with body kits and decent suspension will be OK, but doing those sorts of speeds in base model Falcon/Commodore can be scary as hell out bush

# ¿ Jun 30, 2015 03:50

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

Shadow0 posted:

Can I post about New Zealand here? It's basically Australia, right?

There's an actual NZ Pol thread in D&D you might have more luck in. Mentioning that you think NZ and Australia are the same might not win you many friends there.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2017 05:06

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 03:27

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

If you're trying to get a feel for visa regulations, employment practices etc, then NZpol might be OK. Or maybe just start a NZ threat in T&T

# ¿ Jul 19, 2017 12:46

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